Head protector



Dec. 18, .1945. R Q o-QREN v 2,391,335

HEAD PROTECTOR Filed-April 5, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 I I A I /9 r INVENTOR J v 1 42/26. 029m P. C HEAD PROTECTOR Filedv April 5, 1941 VENTQ I a? 01/2 (535 YsM Patented Dec. 18, 1945 HEAD PROTECTOR Paul C.Brien, Norwalk, Conm, assignor to Hat I Corporation of America, Norwalk, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Application April 5, 1941, Serial No. 386,983

8 Claims. (01. 2-3) This invention relates to head protectorsp Although there has been a full appreciation of the need for a good head protector, to guard the head and particularly the temple section of basewinding and impregnating a strip of fabric upon a suitable form.

many of these prior proposals were so stiff and hard that users found them unpleasant to wear, and consequently discarded the same. a

, It is a primary object of the present invention to overcome the prior deficiencies in head protectors, some of which were just outlined.

Other objects of .the present invention include the provision of: ahead protector which, although it is light in weight, will be strongenough to resistthe full impact of any ballwhich might otherwise inadvertently strike the head of a player; a head protector which will have a snug, comfortable and pleasant feel upon the head of a player; ahead protector which may accommodateitself to divers (e. g., long, round, oval) shaped heads; a protector which will be both extremely light and extremelystrong; a head protector structurally arranged to deflect the force of a missile; a protective device which will not bother the ears or other parts of the wearers head; a head protector which may readily accommodate, a top closure member, a peak, and/or earshields.

Features of the present invention resulting from accomplishing some of these objective in-' clude the provision of: a stiffened shell of great strength ancllight weight; a shell of fabric or the like strengthened by impregnation to resist considerable impact; a shell of stiff yet formfitting characteristics enveloping the weaker parts of the persons head and having outwardly ,extending bulges thereon to deflect missiles from the less naturally protected parts of the wearers head; a base or body section adapted to .easily receive. and support a peak and earshields.

It is another important object of the present invention .to provide a method for easily and economically manufacturing head protectors.

A feature resulting from the attainment of the latter object is the provision of a method which may be practiced bya comparatively unskilled person, including simple steps such as merely Other objects, features and advantages will appear hereinafter;

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of the present preferred form of head protector.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2.--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plane view of the protector shown in Figs. 1 and 2. f

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional View taken on line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a side view of a modified or cap form of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. 4.

Fig. '7 is a viewof the form. 1 Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section of the resilient connector.

Fig.9 is a detail of theear protector.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary detail of'the eyeshield or peak.

Fig. 11' is a plane view of a cutout blank of the fabric. 7 I

Fig; 12 isa. fragmentary viewof amodified form of peak connection.

Before describing the present improvements and mode of operation thereof in detail'it should be understood that the invention is notlimited to the details of'construction and arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings, which are merely illustrative of the present preferred embodiments, since the invention is capable of other embodiments, and the phraseology employed is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

7 Referring now in detail to the drawings which disclose the present preferred embodiments of the invention, and first to thev protector I4 of Figs. 1 through 4, the present invention includes an annular shell 15, which ispreferably of a fibrous materialie. g., felt) or fabric material (e. g muslin), both types hereinafter referred to generally as fabric. This annular shell i5 is preferably made by dipping a strip of such fabric I6 into a suitable impregnating and hardening agent such as a thin solution of shellac, Bakelite varnish or other liquid or plastic solution of natural or synthetic resins. This impregnated strip of fabric is then wound upon a form [1 (see Fig. 7) of suitable configuration and is allowed to dry and. stiffen upon the form. Preferably several complete winds of .a strip of the'impregnated fabric are placed on the form. Alternatively, a plurality therefrom and cut to the general peripheral con,-

tour shown in Fig. l to provide ear recesses or notches I8 and I8 at opposite sides thereof to freely accommodate the ear of a. person who. wears the shell. Also, and preferably, the am nular shell is provided with a notch I9 near the forward section thereof to insure good visibility. A similar concave notch I9 may be provided near the rear section of the shell to enable adequate and unimpeded rearward movement and turning of the head.

Instead of winding a strip or strips, ofuniform width fabric I6 upon a. form, as shown in Fig. '7. it is possible to make the annular shell I from. a cutout blank of suitable fabric, asshown schematically in Fig. 11... This blank may be cut from a conventional strip of felt. orfrom some woven fabric. Impregnation and shaping uponthe form shown in Fig. 7 may be substantially the same as done in connection with the uniform width strips herein described in detail. When. the blank 29 is. of a thick material only onei required to make the shell. However, when thin-.material is used a. plurality of; separate blanks 20;, or a, strip of several such blanks may be placed one, upon the other.

Impregnation and stiffening of the fabric It or 20 with a stiffeningagent may be effected (1) extraneously of the form and prior to winding the fabric thereon, as by first dipping the same, in a suitable tank, and then windi g; (2.) brushing 0r similarly applying the stiffening agent upon the fabric while it is being wound upon the form; (3.) dippingthe form with the fabric thereon ina suitable tank of the impregnation agent; (4) treating he... fabric witha. p ste. powder.- or fluid, form. of stiffening agent; or, (5). byrespectively weaving or felting in thermoplastic filament 0r fibers in the a nc.

lnnregnat onand stiffe ing agents-for the poses, just set forth may b as, follows: shellac,

with considerable alcohol so that it may readily penetrate the particular fabric being used and quickly evaporate; to leave, a stiff fabric;- Bakelite varnish, withone of its well-known thinners, and driers; other now well-k own: natural and-sy thetic resins with their usual thinners. and driers; fabricwith all or some thermoplasticfilaments or fibers.

The thinner in, each instance, is, preferably one. which evaporates; quickly after the fabric is fully assembled upon the: form.

If; the annular shell I 5i is madefrom. a. continu- 0.11s; strip of material it: is. preferably provided with.

a slit: 2| which may be left open for maximum; spreading, but: which is preferably subsequently joined; by a strip of resilient. fabric 22. which maybe cQnnected to, the ends 213 and 224.012 the shell is as by stitching orother suitable means.

In its; preferred: form the annular shell I:-5:'lis covered with some finishing fabric ZBtoi-mprove the appearance of the outer face, top. andbottom edges Qftheshell, andtthe fabric 26: maybe folded:

ver theedgesand'inside of; the shellasmaycbeeeninlFigsi, 2' were. Next, a. suitable padding- 21 is placed within the shell and is preferably secured thereto adhesively. This padding may be of cotton, sheet sponge-rubber or the like. To facilitate the manufacture of the protector, the padding 21 is preferably blanked into the shape shown in Fig. 11 to conform generally with the interior configuration of the shell I5.

Although not essential, extra. localized pads 28 are provided, within the helmet and under the padding 21 (see Figs. 3 and 4) to better protect the adjacent temples of the wearer.

Further, in its preferred form a skiver of leather, or sweat 29 of fabric or the like is preferably provided to cover the padding 21 and 28, to avoid discomfort from sweating, cause the protector to grip the head, and to better hold the padding within the shell. Crisscross stitching 38 may be provided to impart a somewhat quilted effect .to the skiver and padding; secure padding to the skiver or sweat; and help the skiver 28 grip the head and hair of a user.

If preferred, the padding may be adhesively secured to the sweat 29- or secured thereto by the stitching 30 whereupon the skiver and padding may concurrently be placed within the shell i5. Preferably, the skiver is provided with turned-in top and and bottom ends 31 and 32 (Figs. 2 and 4) which may be adhesively secured in the positions 1 shown in these two figures. Alternatively, the turned-in ends of the outer facing material 26 and of the sweat29. may be secured together by overedge stitching 3:3, as. may be seen best in Figs. 2 and 3..

The protector I la, when completed, has a general configuration as shown in- Figs. 1 through 3 and may be placed upon the head of. a baseball player or other person. Notches I8 and I8- provide a clearance-toaccommodate the ears of the user. Depending flanges and 34-" extend downward-lyover the naturally unprotected temples close-tothe stronger bones such as the cheek or top. jaw bones. The protector I4 just described isextremely light yetverystrong. Although it is stiff" enough to withstand the force of any fast flying baseball or the like it is-.fiexibl'e enoughto accommodateitself' to various. shapes of heads, while. the. elastic. connector 225 allows the shell I5 to expand and receive diverssizes of heads.

The facing material Z'Gand the sweat 29 maybe dispensed with for economy, whereupon the padding 21., and 28.. when the latter is used, may be adhesively or otherwise suitably secured to the shell I5.

Fig. 5 discloses amodified form of head protector 35 and differsfrom theprotector I4 (Figs. 1-4) primarily in the provision of a peak 31' to facilitate removaland placing of the protector upon a...person.s head, and to serve as an eyeshield. Optional-1y, it also includes-asafety top or grille. 41. to close the top; of. the. annular shell I5 and. toprotect. the top-iv of the head of a user.

The peak 3:1: (see Figs. 5 and 10 particularly)- may be. of fiber, or: other: desired material, blanked and formed to the'general desired shape. If preferred; the peakmay be made of green, amber or other colored Celluloid, or other translucent'material which will permit acertain amount of overhead viewing of ahighfiying ball orthelikewithout looking: directly intothe sunsrays. Ofparticular. importance, the'peak .3=.l:' may be provided with a plurality of integral tongues or fingersiiil; extending upwardly. fromathe. peak. (see: Figs. 5 and; 10 )1, for: usev in. riyeti'ngor otherwise; suitably securing the peak-.- to thesannulan shell'. I15; A simple and present.- preferred; method: and structure to accommodate holding screws 43.

m accomplishing this connectionis' to merely insert the fingers 39 between the plies of the shell 1 I5'when the plies are superposed upon each other.

As the impregnation or stiffening agent dries .and sets in the plies it serves to securely hold the peak I to the shell.

r Alternatively, the shell l5 may be provided with sockets 40 to accommodate the fingers 39 on the peak 31 as by withdrawing the peak and tongues after the initial setting and before the final hard- .ening and setting of the impregnation takes place, so that the head protector may be initially sold or used without a peak 3! and the peak may. later be added thereto by merely applying an adhesive upon the fingers and inserting the latter into the 14f passed entirely through the fabric shell l5 whereupon the shank of the screws 43 may be passed therethrough'to enter the threaded holes of the fingers 39 to draw the latter against the rear or inner surface of the shell l5 and thereby hold the peak 31 securely on the shell. With this latter construction it is desirable to provide a, suitablegap or unsewed section between the shell 15 and the padding 21 (and on the sweat 29 when the latter is used) to allow the fingers 39 to be brought into place with the screw holes thereof coextensive with the holes 4| in the shell l5.

Similarly to the peak 31 just described earshields 44 of fiber or the like (see Fig. 9) may be added and connected to the protector (note the fingers 39 on the shield 44 and the finger-receiving sections shown in dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 5). -The left and right earshields may be made from the same blank and differ only in having the central bulged sections extend'in opposite directions, as will be readily appreciated.

Fig. 6 discloses a slight modification which may be readily and advantageously built into the protector, including a convex or outward bulge 45 on the depending sections 34 and 34' as defined generally by the dot-and-dash outline in Fig. 5,

to provide'space for more padding material at this particular point and to deflect the force of a ball many other missile striking. that part of the "protector overlying the naturally unprotected temples. g

The modified form of head protector 35 (Fig. 5) discloses a closure member or grille preferably in the form of approximately to /2 inch square wire mesh of sufficient strength to withstand the impactof a flying baseball or comparable missible, yet flexible enough to permit 7 the protector to accommodate itself to divers head shapes and sizes. This member is preferably formed into the concavo-convex shape shown and is preferably provided with an integral botthat the closure member 41 will not in any way restrain the resilient action of the shell l5.

The methods of the present invention are as follows:

. One method includes the steps of impregnating or treating a strip (or strips) of fabric with a stiffening agent; placing the impregnated fabric upon a form of the desired configuration, and setting or stiffening the strip of fabric to form an annular shell of the desired shape; cutting notches in the. annular shell for ear and like clearance. The method may, for more elaborate or more ideal forms of protector, include the further steps of securing padding to the inside of "the annular shell and/or adding a facing member to the outside of th annular shell and/or adding a sweatband over the padding and/or adding a peak to the annular shell and/or splitting the annular shelland/or joining the split sections of the annular shell with a resilient member and/or adding earshields to the annular shell. In all the foregoing, alternatively to impregnating or treating the fabric prior to its application to the form, the impregnation .or

treatment may be given to the fabric as or after it is placed upon the mold (e. g., by painting or dipping).

An alternative method includes the steps of cutting out ablank (or blanks) of fabric substantially to the desired final form or configuration; shaping and setting said fabric blank or blanks into an annular shell of the final. general head- 'conforming shape; and adding a padding therein. Additionally, dependent upon the final structom inturned edge 48 (see Fig. 4) adapted to I overlie the top edge of the shell I5 to rest therer on and be secured thereto as by stitching. Pref- "ture desired, the method may include the further steps of adding'a facing to the exterior of Y the annular shell and/or adding a peak to the shell and/or adding'earshields to the annular shell and/or adding a sweatband over the padding and/or adding a resilient connector to join a slot in the annular shell. With this method the step of impregnating the blank with the stiffening solution or otherwise stiffening thesame may take place before the blank is shaped, while it is being shaped'or after it is shaped (ashereinbefore described in detail).

Alternatively to the closure member 41, the

fabric strip It may be of sufficient width to fold over substantially the entire top 49 of the form and thereby form a top closure which will be integral with the annular shell !5 heretofore described in detail, whereupon the slot 2! at the rear of the shell will be made of sufficient height. to insure the proper degree of head-fitting re siliency in the lower half of the protector. Similarly, the fabric 20 shown in Fig. 11 may be provided with a top extension 41 shown in dot-anddash lines in Fig- 11, adapted to form the top closure member integral with the annular shell.

- Felt and ordinary muslin are some of the tics may be used in either plastic, liquid, powder or paste form to effect the impregnation and stiffening of the fabric. When a thermoplastic is used the usual conventional heat and pressures therefor are employed.

Also, alternatively to the peak 31 and top 41 which tend to convert the annular band form of protector into a peaked cap, it is possible to so convert the same by merely tacking a conventional baseball cap over and onto the protector 14 with the peak protruding from the front thereof in much the same manner as the peak 31. For example, the protector 14 may be passed into th inside of a conventional baseball cap and the sweatband section of the cap may be glued to the protector M with the lower edge thereof on a horizontal plane substantially parallel with the top of the notches i8 which accommodate the ears. Also, the conventional sweatband may be omitted from the inside of the conventional baseball cap, whereupon the fabric of the cap may be connected directly to the protector [4. Further,

if preferred, either of said conventional caps (with or without sweatband) may be passed over the protector l4, and adhesively or otherwise secured thereto, with the lower edge thereof somewhat below the highest point of the notches l8 and I9, whereupon that section of the conventional cap which depends from the protector M will merely be trimmed away to conform genorally with the lower edge of the protector. Alternatively to adhesively securing the conventional cap to the protector I4, the lower edge of such a cap may be stitched to the lower edge of the protector l4 concurrently with the stitching 33 or another separate line of stitching very similar to the stitching 33. With any of the foregoing proposals it is preferable to split the conventional cap up the back in that section thereof immediately overlying the slot 2! so that the conventional cap will not impede the normal expansibility of the protector I4.

Other variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. In a head protector, the combination of an annular shell of stiffened fabric, to fit around the wearers head, and having recesses for ears; and outwardly bulged depending sections on said shell, located forwardly of and having rear edges defining the forward portions of said recesses, adapted to overlie the wearers temples and out of line of vision of the wearer, said bulged sections terminating at the forward portions thereof at locations rearwardly of the front of the shell and at the sides of the shell and out of line of vision .of the wearer.

2. In a head protector, the combination of a shell of superposed plies of fabric, with pockets between the plies, said shell being shaped and stiffened into a generally head-conforming shape, and having notches for ar clearance and depending sections for temple protection; a peak with extensions fitting into said pockets; and a padding within the shell.

3. In a head protector the combination of an annular shell, of stiffened fabric, to fit around the wearers head, and having recesses for ears, said shell having ends defining a split therein enabling a circumferential expansion thereof; resilient means joining said split defining ends;

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depending sections on said shell to overlie the wearers temples, said shell having inner and outer faces and top and bottom edges; an outer facing on the outer face of said shell, having top and bottom ends respectively inturned over the top and bottom edges of said shell; a sweatband facing on the inner face of said shell, having inturned top and bottom ends respectively opposed to said inturned top and bottom ends of the outer facing; and means for securing together said opposed top ends and for. securing together said opposed bottom ends, of said outer and sweatband facing's.

'4. In a head protector, the combination of a fabric shell having a stiffening impregnation therein, to fit around the wearers head, having a front portion adapted to extend across the forehead, and having recesses for ears, said shell at the rear thereof having ends defining a split therein enabling a circumferential expansion thereof; resilient means joining said split defining ends; and depending sections on said shell to overlie the wearers temples.

5. In a head protector, the combination of a shell of concavo-convex shape longitudinally to fit the wearers head, said shell being made of superposed plies of stiffened fabric, having front and rear portions with upwardly concave notches there-in and having recesses for ears; and depending sections on said shell, located forwardly of and having rear edges defining the forward portions of said recesses, adapted to overlie the wearers temples.

6. A structure according to claim 4 including earshields overlying ear recesses and having firiger'like extensions, said shell having finger-receiving sections for receiving said extensions to locate and secure said earshields relative to said shell.

7. In a head protector, the combination of a shell of superposed plies of fabric, shaped and stiffened into a generally head-conforming shape, having notches for ear clearance and depending sections for temple protection; a peak secured to said shell; earshields to overlie said ear clearance notches and having fingerlike extensions thereori, said shell having finger-receiving sections for receiving said extensions to locate said earshields relative to said notches and said shell; a closure member over the shell; and a padding within the shell,

3. A head protector adapted to be secured within a cap having circumferential expansion comprising an annular shell of stiff fabric to fit around a wearers head and extend down over the temples, said shell having recesses at the sides for receiving the wearers ears, upwardly concaved notches at the front and back to provide forgreater visibility and comfort for the wearer, and being split from top to bottom; and resilient means connecting the split ends to provide for circumferential expansion of the shell and to hold the shell in position on the head of the wearer.

PAUL C. OBRIEN. 

